


You Catch More Spies With Honey...

by Skogkatt



Category: Gallagher Girls Series - Ally Carter
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-24
Updated: 2010-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-14 02:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/144108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skogkatt/pseuds/Skogkatt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bex comes back from winter break to find a lot of challenges at Gallagher Academy. Like boys. And heartache. But not necessarily in that order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Catch More Spies With Honey...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [akamarykate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/akamarykate/gifts).



> This takes place at the start of _Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy_ , but is told from Bex's PoV.

Bex Baxter snapped her suitcase shut and pushed it under the bed with a satisfied sigh. "Done unpacking, so term's officially begun."

"I still have a ton of clothes in here," Liz Sutton said.

Bex raised an eyebrow at her roommate and switched from her usual Queen's English to an exaggerated imitation of Liz's Georgia drawl. "Want some help, Scarlett?"

"I'm not a southern belle," Liz said. "I don't even like poofy dresses."

Bex smirked and dialed the accent up even farther. "Well, you awah from Georgia, dahlin'."

"Rebecca," Liz warned.

"Elizabeth." Bex countered in the same warning tone, but she dropped the fake accent. It was always a bad sign when Liz started using full names. She was small, but she could be fierce when she wanted to. Bex might be physically stronger, but she was still in no hurry to incur Liz's wrath. "You're just so cute when you pout, I can't resist."

"You could at least try," Liz said.

Bex sat on Liz's bed and surveyed the damage. She figured that if all the clothes were put into one pile, they'd have more mass and volume than her tiny blonde friend. "Fashion queen much?" she asked.

"Mama says fifteen is old enough to start dressing like a lady. I tried to explain that we just wear our uniforms mostly, but she made me shop anyway. I lost so many hours when I could have been studying new encryption techniques. It was--"

"Okay, bookworm, I give," said Bex, holding up a hand. "No need to go into lecture mode yet. I intend to luxuriate in friend mode until classes start. So. Where do we begin with all this?"

Liz started devising a clothes organization strategy, producing a clipboard out of her backpack and making lists and diagrams. Bex pretended to examine one of her carefully manicured nails in boredom, but secretly she loved watching Liz when she got like this. Liz was the total opposite of Bex in almost every respect. She was light to Bex's dark, slight to Bex's built, sweet to Bex's tart, and timid to Bex's bold. Sometimes Bex thought of them as a tree in springtime, with Liz as the blossoms and Bex as the strong branch holding her up. She'd never admit that, though, even if she came out. It was WAY too sappy and philosophical.

Keeping secrets in a school for spies was no easy thing, but so far Bex had done okay with this one. It might not be so bad to be gay, but being in love with your best friend who also happened to be your roommate? That was one you were better off keeping to yourself. And if she was going to keep that secret, the easiest way was to avoid the whole L-word thing in the first place. Bex avoided any topics that might give her away, and she made a point of talking about how hot guys were on a regular basis even though she never tried to date any of them. It wasn't all that hard at The Gallagher Academy since the only guys around were teachers and other staff members. Out in the world on breaks it was a little trickier, but so far Bex had gotten by with claiming she was too intent on her work to get involved with a boy. Strictly speaking that was true. Not that it mattered if a spy lied. Spies were made for lying after all. But Bex really would much prefer work to going out with boys. Or worse, kissing them. The very thought sent a shudder down Bex's spine.

That shudder must have been totally noticeable, too, because the next thing Bex knew she was being yanked back to the present by Liz's voice. "Aww, is the British Bombshell afraid of a few widdle girly clothes?"

Bex would definitely rather go with that than say what she'd really been thinking, so she threw her arms over her head in mock fright. "So. Many. Ruffles."

"Don't worry, Duchess, they don't bite. Hard." Liz threw her head back and laughed, making her golden hair cascade over her shoulders in a really luscious way.

 _Down girl,_ Bex thought as she forced a laugh. Why was her roommate so hot? It was way unfair.

*

The first night back--the first _real_ night back--passed in that surreal way that seems both incredibly fast and like it's gone on forever. Cammie and Macey had shown up to dinner with a secret, and just like that they were all off on another adventure. Oh, it hadn't gotten to the real adventure stage yet, but Bex knew it was just a matter of time. They had a covert mission: to find out what Black Thorn was, and they'd spent almost all night up in the dusty attic going over different strategies for achieving their goal. It had been wonderful and horrible all at once, and not just because it was really bloody cold up there.

All night Bex had had to pretend she was totally not interested in Liz, even when she did adorable things like toppling off the window seat and saying, "Oopsy Daisy!" And at the same time Bex was acutely aware that these three girls were her closest friends ever. Even prickly Macey, who'd only been around for a few months. Bex would risk her life for any one of them and they'd do the same for her no questions asked. That didn't stop her from feeling a bit of self-pity over her secret burden, though.

Bex knew Cammie was heartbroken and all that, but even so Bex was kind of jealous of her. She'd had something with someone outside of school, and outside of the intimate circle of best friendship. Even if the CIA had told her she couldn't see him anymore, even if his memory of Cammie's true identity had been wiped out by special tea... Even so, Bex mused, it must be nice to be able to talk about the person you're into without worrying it might lose you your best friends.

"What is it, Bex?" Macey asked. "You look like you've checked out of reality and gone into another world."

"Do you have an idea about Black Thorn?" Liz asked.

Bex grinned her best mischievous grin. Spy time. Show time. Never let them know time. "I was just thinking we ought to find a way to see Mr. Solomon without his shirt on. Wouldn't that be wicked?"

*

That week went by really quickly. The first couple of days of every new term were always the hardest for Bex. Well, always since she'd realized she totally had a crush on her best friend/roommate, anyway. Once she got into the rhythm of things, the torture and yearning became something like a steady pop song playing over and over in the background wherever she went, but for those first couple of days, she was gobsmacked every time.

It helped that this term Liz was off to learn how to be an effective desk monkey instead of taking CoveOps with her and Cammie. Liz needed to have a safer job, and it was way easier for Bex to concentrate on proper spy training without having a distracting crush object in the classroom.

Outside of class, they were all too busy working on the Black Thorn mission to allow for much personal angsting. Not that Bex hadn't managed a little. It was hard not to when some of their Top Secret Maneuvers involved things like having Liz sit on her shoulders--something which had totally been Liz's idea, she might add. Cammie had been really worried they'd get caught. Bex had been more worried everyone would know how much she wanted to keep touching Liz.

"What did you find?" she asked Cammie once they'd all gotten safely back to their room.

"Mr. Solomon had an envelope that said Blackthorne on it," Cammie blurted out.

"We have to get it," Bex said. She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. This was the perfect distraction. She loved a good mystery, and a good excuse to get into trouble.

"Not a good idea, Bex," Cammie said. Bex knew by the look on Cammie's face that she meant it, too.

"Come on Cammie. You're the only person who can get into the headmistress's office..." Bex couldn't resist pushing her a bit more, but Cammie wouldn't budge when she got like this. Goody two shoes wasn't exactly the right name for what Cammie was, but she did have a pretty giant sense of right and wrong, and she stuck to her principles whenever it came down to the wire. Bex respected that about her, even if it was sometimes really annoying.

When Cammie had gotten to the really snappish point in her stubborn sticking to principles cycle, Liz jumped in and saved the day.

"We have pictures," she said. She aimed a warning glare at Bex as she said it. There was no mistaking the unspoken message: shut up now, or else. Bex didn't really want to find out what the else was. Plus, they had pictures.

The first few were boring. One thing Bex had learned early in life was that being a spy meant sifting through a LOT of boring stuff to find the good bits.

"How many pictures of those crab puffs did you take?" Macey asked.

Cammie shrugged. "I was nervous, okay? You guys made me violate my mom's trust!"

But then all arguments stopped. A hush fell over the room as the four girls stared at Liz's laptop screen.

"Whoa," said Bex as Liz enlarged the picture. There were two men, not much older than the girls were now. One of them was Cammie's dad. The other was Mr. Solomon. And Mr. Solomon was wearing a shirt that said "Blackthorne Institute For Boys" on it.

There was a boys' school somewhere out there, one like theirs... a school for boy spies.

*

The thing about knowing there was a boys' school was that it made everyone go a little bit crazy. First it was just intense curiosity. Who were these boy spies, and how could they meet them? Then, after the incident in DC with the boy who tailed Cammie (The Chameleon!) right to the meeting point, the game changed again. It got more serious.

Madame Dabney was making them dance in C&A class, and this time there was no way Bex was going to "accidentally" end up with Liz for a partner. Now she was busy fending off the questing glances of one Blackthorne boy named Grant while Liz tripped all over another named Jonas. Bex hoped she stepped on his toes really hard.

More worrying though, was Cammie. The boy who'd bested her was named Zach, and it was pretty obvious she liked him. How was it that Cammie, the blends into the background girl, pavement artist extraordinaire, got all these guys falling over her? With Josh it had at least been cute. Bex never really thought he was a danger, even if she did make a big show of going through his trash for security reasons. But Zach? Bex just wasn't sure about this one.

Of course Cammie went off with him right after class, too. It was under the pretext of being his Gallagher guide, but Bex couldn't help noticing that both she and Liz had no trouble ditching their assigned boys for the rest of the afternoon.

"I've got to study anyway," Grant said when Bex told him she needed some downtime.

Liz caught up with her a few paces down the hall, after she righted the suit of armor she'd accidentally bumped into.

"Downtime, Duchess?" Bex looked down to see Liz smirking. Okay, yeah, anyone who knew Bex at all would have known that was an outright lie, but lying was what spies did.

"Actually, I really wanted to talk to you," Bex said.

"Really?" Liz asked. Bex told herself she was imagining the squeak of nerves in Liz's voice, and the quiver of anticipation in her bearing.

"About Cammie," Bex said.

"Oh," said Liz. Did she really just deflate a little? No, Bex thought. No way. Wishful thinking, Baxter. Get over yourself.

"Let's wait until we're someplace less public, though."

"Right," Liz said. "And then I really need to do my O Chem homework. I have an extra credit project."

"Is there ever a time when you don't have an extra credit project?"

"Well, um, no," Liz admitted. Then she crossed her twiglike arms over her chest and squared her jaw. "I happen to take learning seriously."

"Tell me about it," Bex said.

"I want to be the best desk monkey ever," Liz said.

Bex opened the door to their room and poked her head inside. It was clear. Macey must still be doing P&E with the lower classes. "I know, I know. You're just like Garcia on _Criminal Minds_."

Liz plopped her bag down on her bed and sighed. "I wish. I'll never be as cool as Garcia."

"Oh whatever," said Bex.

Liz fidgeted with the strap of her backpack, looking suddenly shy. "You know, I heard the actress who plays her has a girlfriend in real life."  
Bex's heart did a little flip and landed in her stomach, right on top of the three waffles she'd devoured earlier. Liz probably didn't mean anything by that. Really.

"Oh, that's cool." Bex kept her voice level and nonchalant.

"You think so?" Liz asked. Her voice was squeaking again. Bex was definitely not imagining it.

"I--" But before Bex could say anything else, the door opened, and Macey came charging in, sweaty and exhilarated from her P&E workout.

"Hey ladies, who's a badass? I'm a badass!"

"Oh," said Liz, squeaking again. "That's great, Macey."

Macey pushed her dark hair out of her face and grinned. "I totally threw that wormy eighth grade Blackthorne kid to the floor. It rocked. I got the moves, girls."

"Cool," said Bex. And it was cool. Macey was becoming more of a Gallagher Girl every day. But Bex couldn't help wondering what might have happened if she hadn't chosen that particular moment to come in.

"I've gotta hit the shower," Macey said. "Being a badass is hard work."

"Just don't use all my conditioner and replace it with the volumizing kind," Bex said.

"Haha, right." Macey stopped laughing pretty quickly, though. "Wait, did that really happen?"

"Cammie thinks I don't know," said Bex. "As if I'm not a badass spy myself. Pish. I used the whole bottle and let my hair get really big just to make her squirm."

Liz giggled. "Oh, that's evil."

"I won't play as nicely if it happens again, though. That's all I'm saying."

Macey winced. "Roger that. I'll stick to my own vast array of beauty products."

After Macey disappeared into the bathroom, and the sound of running water came through the door, Liz and Bex looked at each other uncertainly.

"Um, so, I was going to talk to you," Bex said. "About Cammie."

"Yeah," Liz said. She got up and started pacing nervously. "Right. About Cammie."

"I think we'd better do some really low profile recon."

Liz stopped mid-pace and gasped. "You want to spy on _Cammie_?"

"No. On Zach."

"Oh," said Liz. "Right. That makes more sense. Spying on boys."

"I don't trust him," Said Bex. "I want to check him out thoroughly before he does something horrible. Like... like putting Cam in danger."

"Or breaking her heart," Liz said. But she looked right into Bex's eyes when she said it, like she wasn't talking about Cammie's heart at all. Like she was talking about her own.

"Or that," Bex said, her hand involuntarily flying up to rest over her own heart. "I'd rather avoid any heartbreak, yeah."

"But," Liz whispered, but her voice still managed to squeak as she did. She shivered, and turned half away like she was going to walk to the other side of the room. Then she turned back so sharp and sudden that she would have clocked Bex in the eye with her elbow if Bex hadn't had such good reflexes.

Liz leaned down toward the bed where Bex was perched, and placed her tiny white fingers on Bex's arm. Bex held her breath, certain that she must be dreaming, and that all this would shatter if she exhaled. She felt the soft brush of Liz's hair against her cheek, and then the sweet warmth of Liz's lips on her own. Bex's eyes fluttered closed. If this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up.

"So," Liz said as she pulled away. "You, um, want to talk about surveillance tactics?"

Bex opened her eyes to see Liz with bright pink spots in her cheeks. She hadn't dreamed it. It _had_ really happened. But she could hear the water turning off in the bathroom, and Macey's off-key rendition of a Kelly Clarkson song.

"Surveillance, yeah. Good idea."

When Macey came out in her bathrobe, they were bent over Liz's laptop as if everything was completely normal, but Bex had the feeling this term was going to be very exciting indeed.


End file.
